Democracy in Crisis around the World

Democracies across the globe are in crisis as authoritarian regimes rise and populist leaders emerge worldwide. Democracy in Crisis across the World weaves threads of history and politics in two parts to analyze how long this trend may last and what the future may bring.

In the twenty-first century, democracies across the globe are in crisis. The strength of basic democratic institutions and core enduring political principles and values are eroding in key regions and countries. Authoritarian regimes are rising and populist leaders are emerging. Democracy in Crisis across the World weaves threads of history and politics in two parts to analyze how long this trend may last and what the future may bring. By first examining the state of democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East and North Africa, the second part of the collection highlights to democratic trajectory of India, China, Russia, and the United States. Ending with a look at how the world’s governments have responded to the coronavirus pandemic, contributors argue that unless democracy is defended with resolution and nurtured with resilience, it will fall.

Introduction

Saliba Sarsar and Rekha Datta

Chapter One: Variation in Measures of Democracy

Stephen J. Chapman

Part I: World Regional Perspectives

Chapter Two: Democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa: Changing Phases

Julius O. Adekunle

Chapter Three: Democracy in Transition: Political Trends in Eastern Europe

Kevin L. Dooley

Chapter Four: Democracy at Risk: Political Trends in the Recent History of Western Europe

Kenneth L. Campbell

Chapter Five: Democracy in Latin America: Uneven Institutional Performance

Kenneth Mitchell and Samuel Maynard

Chapter Six: Democracy in the Middle East and North Africa: Still Little to No Progress

Saliba Sarsar

Part II: Country Case Studies

Chapter Seven: A ‘Modi’-fied India: Parties, Promises, and Portends of Democracy Amidst an Uncertain Glory

Rekha Datta and Samuel Maynard

Chapter Eight: Digital Authoritarianism in the People’s Republic of China

Peter W. Liu and Justin M. Liu

Chapter Nine: The Erosion of Democracy in Post-Soviet Russia

Thomas S. Pearson

Chapter Ten: The Challenges of American Democracy

Joseph Patten

Chapter Eleven: Comparisons of Measures of Democracy

Stephen J. Chapman

Epilogue

Saliba Sarsar